Jōnin of the Sand
by Akeppi
Summary: Why then did he have to kill the Kazekage? Was it because it would make us easier to control? Or was the Kazekage starting to doubt this plan that had failed? Or was it because the Kazekage stood in his way to some bigger objective? Or was it simply just because he could? I had to know. And the only way I'd find out...was to find Orochimaru.


Oh? Hello. Guess I should clear up who I am a bit. I am Junyuki Kiironatsu, and I was once a kunoichi from the Land of Wind. Sunagakure was my home. I started out like anyone, as a typical rookie genin. I rose to Chūnin and even Jōnin. Life as a Jōnin was treating me well thus far. With the oldest academy students graduating soon, I would possibly have a team of my own to teach the skills a genin would need to know, skills that could very well save their lives. I had no clue if I'd be able to do it, but if I was asked, I would do it to the best of my abilities. It had become part of my duty to the village and I'd be damned if I let the village down. I had thought that passing on my knowledge would be my main, and only, concern.

How quickly things would change.

I had been a Jōnin for little over a week when the person who'd change the entire course of my life showed up. I was just outside the village when I saw someone approaching, someone I didn't recognize. At first, I thought my mind was playing tricks on me. After all, who'd be crazy enough to travel through the desert by themselves, especially during the day when it was hotter? It soon became clear that this was no illusion. My mind came to the immediate conclusion that this person was up to no good. I narrowed my eyes, hands forming the ram hand sign. "Doton: Sunaodori!" Kneeling, I pressed my hands firmly against the hot sand, closing my eyes to prevent any from getting into my eyes as it moved in waves. I was hoping to throw them off balance, but they didn't even seem to be affected by my attack at all. Getting back up, I formed four different hand signs, a dome of sand materializing around the stranger. "Fūton: Sajin Senpū!" I yelled as the sand sealed them inside. I smirked, knowing that they'd be put under genjutsu and imagine attacks coming at them from all sides. There was no way to escape.

"Did you really think that would work?"

Startled, I turned around just as several snakes struck all at once, coiling tightly around me. Having lived my whole life in a desert, I knew a thing or two about snakes. One, you don't piss them off, and two, if you do piss them off, flailing aimlessly while one is coiled around you is the worst thing you can do. It tires you out faster while making the snake's job easier. No, you keep a level head and figure out a better way to escape. So, instead of struggling like instinct was telling me to do, I stood as still as I could, face to face with the man who had managed to beat me so effortlessly. His appearance alone reminded me of a snake, especially his golden eyes. "That was a clone or substitution, wasn't it?" I asked, even though I knew it had to be something like that. "While I was occupied with it, you snuck around so you could catch me off guard from behind." Simple, but it worked. I couldn't believe I fell so easily for something like that.

"You catch on quickly," the stranger remarked, his voice just as creepy as his appearance.

"It's part of the reason I'm even a Jōnin," I responded. _That and my ability,_ I added internally, my left hand clenching instinctively.

"Oh? I see…" He smirked, almost as if he knew my inner thoughts and could sense what I was thinking.

 _God, I hope he can't,_ I thought. That was a secret I'd rather have kept hidden from him. I forced my hand to relax, resting my gloved palm against the snake's scales. "Why are you here?" I snapped, getting to the point.

"This was not the reception I was expecting. I simply want to speak to your Kazekage, to propose a temporary alliance of sorts. I am sure he will come to agree with me."

He seemed so sure of himself. What was this man planning? I'd only be able to find out if they did talk with each other. I just hoped I wouldn't get chewed out for what I was about to do. "I'll take you to him. But if you plan on attacking the Kazekage, I won't hesitate to kill you. You won't catch me off guard twice," I added with as much confidence as I could muster.

"Of course," he said, the snakes uncoiling around me as if he told them to. I felt like I could breathe again, though I was still on edge. I wasn't afraid of snakes, but this was a whole different situation. Whoever this person was, he was clearly powerful and dangerous. I really hoped it didn't come to a fight because I wasn't as sure of myself as I sounded. Could I actually win? Did I really want to find out? I shook my head, leading the way to the Kazekage. No point on wasting time thinking about hypothetical situations. Surely he wasn't crazy enough to actually try killing the Kazekage anyway.

When we arrived, I wasn't sure of the Kazekage's reaction. He was unreadable at that moment. I watched in silence, keeping an eye on the stranger as he explained why he was here. Apparently, this stranger, Orochimaru, was here to plan an attack on Konohagakure with our help.

Orochimaru. I knew that name. One of the three Sannin from Konohagakure, each of them powerful in their own right. And I tried to fight him...by myself. How insane could I be, picking a fight against someone like him?

I thought over his proposed "alliance". They say don't judge a book by its cover, but my gut was telling me not to trust this man. We couldn't agree with this, not without more information. I looked around at the Kazekage and the other Jōnin there, shocked by what I was seeing. I could tell from their expressions that they wanted to do this, without any idea of the consequences. How could they be so blind? I could see that, if this failed, it would spell disaster for Sunagakure, something I wasn't going to chance. "It's not possible," I said bluntly. They all looked at me like I was crazy. I didn't care. My voice needed to be heard, especially now. "Don't you think if we had been able to do this before that we would have done it at that time? We simply don't have the numbers. And I don't care how strong you are, but one person can't take down an entire village. So, unless you have shinobi I don't know about, move along, because I'll make sure that it doesn't happen, for Sunagakure's sake."

"Junyuki!"

I bowed my head. "My apologies, sensei, but it needs to be said. We can't just rush blindly into this without knowing if it even has a chance of succeeding."

"Junyuki, was it?" I looked over at Orochimaru and nodded, shivers running down my spine upon hearing my name in his voice. "There is no need to worry. I have many subordinates at my disposal, including the village hidden in the sound, Otogakure."

My eyes narrowed as I thought this over. I wasn't entirely satisfied, but the odds were starting to go in our favor. Like the others, I wasn't entirely immune to how tantalizing this proposal was. Our funding was dwindling, our Daimyo using it to hire shinobi from Konohagakure instead. It infuriated many of us, myself among them. Sure, there was a treaty between our two countries, but it was worth little more than the paper it was signed on. If this plan worked, then the Daimyo would have to hire Sunagakure shinobi. Even if this plan failed overall, we'd still weaken our new enemy, possibly to the point where their forces would be stretched to their limits. At the same time, I wondered if this was really what we wanted. War with the Land of Fire, and any country that allied themselves with it? I simply nodded in acknowledgment, saying nothing more of the matter. What could I say now that would change anyone's mind? The answer was simple: nothing. Nothing. At. All. I still didn't trust Orochimaru, but if this was what was best for Sunagakure, then I wouldn't object anymore, even with my doubts.

Discussions continued, and we agreed to be part of this attack. While the details still had to be laid out, we knew that it would happen on the day of the final rounds of the Chūnin Exams.

Several days later, the Kazekage summoned me. I bowed respectfully before him, asking, "Do you need something from me?"

"Yes. I want you to go on the Konoha mission."

"What?" I blurted. "Me? I-I couldn't. I'm not even sure we should be participating in this attack to begin with. The doubt would make me ineffective in this fight."

"I understand your worries, but you won't need to be in the fighting itself. All you need to do is help your allies with your medical ninjutsu. You have no reason to question that."

"Of course not. They're my friends, my family. I'd never want to let the village down."

"Also, if it eases your mind, you won't need to attack...unless you feel inclined to do so."

I nodded. "Okay, I'll do it."

He gave me further details of the plan. A genin team consisting of his own children, Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara, would be entering the Chūnin Exams. During the final rounds, Gaara would transform into Shukaku during his fight and attack from the inside while the other shinobi attacked from the outside. I tentatively asked if I'd be allowed to be positioned in the arena, which he allowed.

So, with that said, I went to Konohagakure, watching the matches I had once been part of myself. The first battle didn't really impress me at first, and I swear the boy who came out on top won through sheer dumb luck. Sasuke Uchiha was nowhere to be found, but thank god they postponed that match. That was the fight everyone really wanted to watch. Not only that, but Sasuke was Gaara's opponent, and without Sasuke, the plan would become slightly more complicated. Then, Kankuro forfeited his match. I understood why, of course. He was conserving his strength for when we really needed it. The next fight didn't impress me at first either. The boy Temari was up against clearly did not want to fight. He seemed so lazy, but his mind was sharp. He had control of the fight the entire time, even when it didn't seem like it...and then he forfeited the match. It confused me why he'd forfeit at first...unless maybe he was just too lazy to do another fight.

Then the fight we had been waiting for. Gaara vs. Sasuke...only Sasuke was still missing. Where was he? Surely nothing had happened to him. The waiting was unbearable, but at last Sasuke showed up, and just in time too. Now, this was a fight worth seeing. I had honestly expected Gaara to win this fight like any other, without getting a single scratch. That wasn't the case. Sasuke managed to cause Gaara to bleed, as in actual blood. It was a feat upon itself. Gaara's screams upon realizing this chilled me to the bone.

I frowned as I was broken out of my thoughts, seeing the feathers I had been warned about. This wasn't the plan. Where was Shukaku? "Kai!" I whispered, dispelling the genjutsu. It didn't matter now. The plan was in full motion, and I had my part to play.

I stuck around for a minute to watch the fighting in here. I thought I recognized the two fighting the many Sound and Sand shinobi on the other side. Guy and Kakashi, two very strong Leaf shinobi. There was nothing I could do against them, as they were certainly stronger than me. I went to leave the arena to help my fellow Suna nin beginning their infiltration of the village but paused for a moment. While I couldn't put my finger on it, my gut was telling me something was amiss. I looked up to see the Kazekage and Hokage...only it wasn't the Kazekage. It was Orochimaru. Dread filled me, and I felt my face pale at the sight. Where was the Kazekage? I shook my head, leaving the arena. I'd have time to figure it out later. Now was not that time.

The plan worked wonderfully at first, but something didn't seem right. The resistance was pitiful, and everywhere we went there was not a single person who wasn't a shinobi. We realized that they must have evacuated the civilians to a safe location far away from the fighting. While some were upset by this, I know I wasn't the only one who was relieved they didn't have to kill innocent children. Hey, **some** shinobi still had morals they upheld despite essentially being little more than living weapons. At some point, though, the Konoha nin started to gain the upper hand as their reinforcements, including their Anbu and strongest jōnin, arrived to fight us. We, on the other hand, were being pushed back. I healed as many of my allies as possible, but there was only so much I could do. Then our Otogakure "allies" started to flee, leaving us behind. It was over. Infuriated, I retreated alongside the other Suna nin.

When we returned to Sunagakure, our first mission was to find the missing Kazekage. Without any hesitation, I volunteered to take on this mission. I knew what I had to do. Making sure I was alone first, I pulled off the fingerless glove on my left hand and stared at the diamond-like marking on my palm. Concentrating, I moved my fingers on my right hand, gently pulling at wisps of chakra. It wasn't my own, though. It was the Kazekage's. This was what made me valuable: my kekkei genkai. No one alive knew about it, not even the Kazekage himself. Kekkei genkai were dangerous abilities, and if someone found out about it, they might kill me because of it. Mine was Dark Release, a nature combination kekkei genkai, though I didn't know what natures it even was. It was the ability I had to store another's chakra and manipulate it, or even release it if I needed to. I could locate them later using it, and I could even transfer my own chakra through this link if it was necessary. It took significantly more chakra that way, but it could work in a pinch if I wasn't nearby. I stared at the chakra, watching for any sign of movement in a particular direction. The chakra always tried to return to its source, and it was this that led me to my target. However, this time was different; it was still, with only slight wavering to the east.

This wasn't normal. Something had happened to him, that much I was sure of. Pulling my glove back on, I rushed in that direction, my team right behind me. It took a couple days to find him, but what we found sickened us. The Kazekage and his bodyguards were dead, flies buzzing around their decaying corpses. I forced myself to get closer. _How long have they been dead?_ Examining the bodies, I gasped out, "They've been dead for...for at least a month." We had been tricked by Orochimaru. We had been willing to go along with his plan! Even me, the only one who had shown any form of dissent. Why then did he have to kill the Kazekage?

That question plagued my mind the whole way back, and it refused to give way. Why, why, why? Was it because it would make us easier to control? Or was the Kazekage starting to doubt this plan that had ultimately failed? Or was it because the Kazekage stood in his way to some bigger objective? Or was it simply just because he could?

Days passed. Soon, those days turned into weeks. Those weeks became months. No matter how hard I tried to suppress it, that question never left my mind. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. I had to know. And the only way I'd find out...was to find Orochimaru myself and get him to tell me the answer. I knew that, by leaving without permission, I'd very likely be thought as dead...or worse, marked as a missing nin, a criminal in the eyes of my home people. But there was no way I could just let this sit anymore. I needed an answer, now, no matter the consequences.

This was where things were going to be difficult. For the first time since the search for the missing Kazekage, I pulled off my glove. I looked around warily before tugging at the small amounts of chakra I had managed to absorb from the snakes when they had been wrapped around me. I figured it would lead me to Orochimaru since the snakes were his to command. I stared in confusion as it simply sat there, not even moving an inch. "Well, that didn't work."

It looked like finding him was going to be more difficult than I had anticipated. Having nothing else to go off of, I made my way to the Land of Sound he supposedly led, figuring that was as good a place to start as any. I asked around about Otogakure, and at first, nobody knew what I was talking about. I wasn't deterred by this. I'd find it, I was sure of that. I kept asking around. "Otogakure? I might know something about that," someone piped up.

I turned around, seeing the girl who had spoken. She was a good few inches shorter than me, and even though she couldn't have been older than thirteen or fourteen, her brown eyes held an unnatural wisdom to them, as if she had experienced much strife during her short life. "You know Otogakure?" I asked this brown-haired girl.

"I am familiar with Otogakure."

She made no effort to clarify, which infuriated me. " **What** do you know about it?" I made sure to emphasize the first word.

"Many things. Why do you ask?"

I sighed, getting more and more frustrated with this. "I'm looking for Orochimaru, that's why."

"Why would you be doing that?"

"Excuse me?" How dare this girl question my decision?

"My apologies. I am simply curious," she responded, smiling slightly.

"Guess I can't blame you there. It's curiosity that drives me too. I'm not looking for a fight or anything if that's what you're asking. I just want to know why he killed the Kazekage."

She gasped, startled by the news. "He killed the Kazekage?"

I nodded, suddenly somber. "Yes. And the Hokage."

"That would be unfortunate news," she said. "I do know where Otogakure is. I can guide you there if that is what you desire."

"Yes. Thank you," I said, following her out of the building. "I'm Junyuki, by the way. Junyuki Kiironatsu."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Junyuki. I am Kokami Ryuujin."

This Kokami guided me to our destination, and soon we had arrived. "It is just down that way," she said, pointing in the direction we had been heading. "I apologize that I cannot come farther with you."

"It's fine," I said, alleviating the young girl's worries. "Besides, I don't want to fight him. The one time was enough."

She looked at me in shock. "You...fought against Lord Orochimaru?"

I looked suspiciously at her. She called him **Lord** Orochimaru. Why would she do that? We had just called him Orochimaru, but this girl...she was different from everyone else. No, there were people who called him Lord Orochimaru, but that was just his followers. Was she one of his followers too? This felt like it could be a trap, and I was not about to let my guard falter now. "Yes," I said slowly, "though why did you just call him Lord Orochimaru?"

Her eyes widened at that, and she sputtered, "I-I would not want to be heard calling him any less, especially so close to his hideout. He could be watching right now for all that I know," she added, glancing around nervously as if she expected him to leap out of the shadows.

I guess I couldn't argue with that. She definitely appeared frightened by Orochimaru, and for good reason. I certainly didn't want to mess with someone who had killed, not one, but two Kage. "I see…" I muttered, looking towards where I was headed. Who knows? Maybe everybody in this land did that. It's not like I had asked around for Orochimaru himself. "Thanks, Kokami. I never would have found this place without you."

"Oh, please do not thank me. I am sure you would have found this place of your own accord eventually." And, with that, she was gone, probably to head back to her home.

I found the entrance to his hideout easily enough and entered inside without a second thought. Get in, find out what I wanted to know, and get out. Easy enough, right?

What a fool I was, thinking that it would actually be easy.

The place itself was booby-trapped, but the traps themselves were not difficult to escape from. I did almost get caught in one involving a pit with spiky poles at the bottom, but I made it out in one piece before the floor could close above me. I found my way to a room with pillars, lit by candlelight. I pulled the chakra out again, having no idea if it would work now or not. It didn't, of course, but my gut was telling me I had to be close. Just a little farther, and the answers I sought would be mine. I was about halfway through when laughter echoed throughout the room. My hands balled into fists, the chakra snuffing out as I hid my abilities. I looked around, suddenly feeling very terrified. Where was the source, and who was it? Both questions were immediately answered, for that was when Orochimaru emerged from the shadows, his glare alone freezing me in place. I couldn't move, and I swear I could see my gruesome death at his hands. The images alone were enough to drive me to my knees before him, trembling in fear like a rat upon seeing a snake. He chuckled before saying, "Aren't you going to kill me? Or was it all just empty threats?"

My mind fought against my body, the former wanting to move and the latter refusing to cooperate. Slowly, bit by bit, my mind started to win the battle. It took all of my willpower to push myself to my feet, but at least I was standing now. As I had struggled against myself, Orochimaru had just watched with slight interest. I took that as a good sign. If he were going to kill me himself, I was sure it would have happened when I was down. "I'm not here for a fight," I said, my voice shaking in fear. "I want to know why you did it. Was it because it made things easier? Was he in your way? What was it?" I didn't bother to clarify. He knew why I was here.

"What if I told you I did it just because I could?" He grinned as I narrowed my eyes in anger. "Well, 'tis the truth. I killed the Kazekage because I could."

Snarling in fury, I rushed at him in a blind rage, forming hand signs as quickly as I could without revealing the mark on my hand. I knew that I did not want to show my ability to anyone, especially him. I spared a quick glance at the chakra forming around my hands in a messy attempt of forming chakra scalpels. The left one was worse due to that hand being clenched in a fist once again, but it didn't matter at the moment. I wasn't even thinking; I just attacked, aiming for his heart even if I couldn't sever an artery with my limited skill. I gasped as someone grabbed my right arm before I could reach him. My eyes widened upon seeing a familiar chakra around the hand grabbing my arm. "Is this what you were trying to do?" the newcomer asked as his chakra scalpel disabled my right arm.

"Kabuto Yakushi," I said in shock, pulling away before he could land another blow on me. I remembered him from my final Chūnin Exam. _He's definitely improved, that's for sure. Or maybe he had been holding back after all._ I didn't have the time to ponder that, not in the middle of a battle. Especially not in a two-on-one fight that I originally had almost no chances of winning. Seeing no other options, I dived several feet into the ground to buy myself some time, making the remaining hole only large enough for me to stick my arm through to get back out. I hissed in pain as I started to heal my arm, weighing my options. I had never really fought against another medical ninja, and I knew how dangerous those chakra scalpels could be if they hit in the right places. I was suddenly not looking forward to this. It would be even harder having to both fight Orochimaru and keep myself from being struck by Kabuto's chakra scalpels. _Alright, take it easy,_ I reminded myself as I started to regain movement in my right hand. _I just have to think this through is all. If I just-_

I was brought suddenly out of my thoughts when I felt something wrap tightly around my left arm. Yelping, I immediately balled my hand into a fist as I was yanked out of the ground. Terror filled me as I realized it was a snake coiled around my entire forearm, the snake itself coming from under Orochimaru's sleeve. He looked down at my left hand curiously. _No! I can't let him know about that!_ I tried in vain to free my arm from the snake, but instead, it squeezed even tighter to prevent my escape. With the snake keeping a hold on my left arm, Orochimaru forced my hand open, revealing the symbol that I had hidden from the entire world for so long. I froze, staring at my hand in wide-eyed fright. Death was coming for me. I was sure of it...and there was nothing I could do about it, with how much stronger he was compared to me. "Why do you hide it?"

 _Wait...what?_ This wasn't anywhere near what I was expecting. Wasn't he going to kill me because of it? Not that I would complain if he didn't, mind you. I valued my life. Obviously rattled, I replied, "I...I always have. Ever since I was young, I was told to keep it hidden. Having a kekkei genkai wasn't seen by everyone as good, and my father told me it was better to hide it than to risk someone hurting you for it." I remembered back to when I was younger. Father had the kekkei genkai as well and had kept it hidden his entire life until he revealed it to a friend of his. The next day, he went missing and had not been seen since. Definitely as good a reason as anything to keep it to myself. I didn't know of my father's fate, but I knew I didn't want it happening to me.

I finally looked back up at Orochimaru. He smirked, obviously planning something, but what I had no idea. "If you followed me, Junyuki, you wouldn't have to hide your abilities. You would be able to use it as you wish, and perfect it under my guidance."

"Really?" I looked away, conflicted. Would I really betray my home, just to be able to become stronger? Just so I didn't have to hide what I was truly capable of every single day? I was scared to realize that I could. Did they really mean so little to me? I cared about my friends and my family, truly I did. But this could give me the chance to be what I was meant to be, without living in fear of someone discovering my long-hidden secret. I couldn't help but feel guilty as I responded.

"I'll follow you, Lord Orochimaru."

* * *

 **Such a creative title, I know, but my mind was coming up with squat. Though apparently, it must have worked before.**

 **Anyway, this is a rewritten version of the original oneshot of the same name because, as I found out later, I actually had quite a few details messed up, including the fact that Sunagakure and Otogakure were allied with each other before the preliminaries had even begun...and the fact that Orochimaru technically couldn't use jutsu that require hand signs at this point (f*** you Sarutobi for making my story that much harder to rewrite). Being the crazy perfectionist I am, I had to rewrite it so it would work at least as far as the original Naruto story goes...or at least as much as I possibly can. As my friend knows, I was so confused as to what exactly Orochimaru is able to do. For the record, I'm still confused but whatever. All I can say is that it gave me an excuse to have Kabuto in this, so I'm happy enough.**

 **Oh, Junyuki was indeed my third Naruto OC. I did figure that out.**

 **Also, I may add other oneshots in this story. I'm not sure yet. If I do, they won't be in any sort of chronological order. Rather, they'll be in the order I write them. Sorry if this later brings confusion, but I'd rather just have them all in here rather than having multiple stories. Considering my titling skills, it's probably for the best that they're all in the same place.**

 **The original rambling incoming!**

 **So, I didn't come up with the reason Orochimaru killed the Kazekage. That was left to Lord Orochimaru2703. Honestly, I'm glad this was the reason because it allowed me to go from one thing to another and still have Junyuki stay in character. Killing just because you can is something that doesn't agree with her, and she gets rather angry when that's the case...as you can see with her just losing all logic and just trying to rush and kill Orochimaru despite saying she didn't want to fight numerous times.**

 **Story time. So there was this little part where I write how I have "shivers running down my spine upon hearing my name in his voice". This is 100% personal experience. I was at FanExpo 2018 with my friend, and Steve Blum was there (we found this out only because we had bought prints of Orochimaru from someone who had a sign saying "get it signed"). Of course, with me being Tayuya and my friend being Orochimaru, we _had_ to go see him. I paid for them to be autographed because goddamnit if anyone needed something signed by Steve Blum it was my friend. And when he was signing it, he was saying it _in Orochimaru's voice_. HOLY SHIT. It was both amazing and terrifying at the same time...and being in Tayuya's mindset at the time did not help there.**

 **Also, another thing...it feels so wrong for me to have Kokami saying "Lord" Orochimaru. It's a thing among the spontaneous RP's that some of Orochimaru's subordinates are using Lord, and others use the honorific "-sama". It originally was just Tayuya's "Lord" to Kabuto's "-sama" (I at the time was not exactly familiar with honorifics, and I'm still not). But then as I made more characters, some of mine used "-sama", while others used "Lord" like Tayuya. Kokami is of the former, and Junyuki is of the latter. I had made a decision a while ago to use Lord Orochimaru on FanFiction no matter the character to make things less confusing. However, my stories (except the Kokami oneshot, but that was a spur of the moment thing) were originally shared through discord, and I had the individual characters using their version. Obviously, changes had to be made. It's just me, I know. But still.**

 **Oh, and the cover is a picture of Junyuki I drew myself. The one (and only) story that has a cover at the moment.**

 **Okay, I'm done rambling. Until next time!**


End file.
